127th
Whose hand will the gods of war raise?
127 ? Whose Hand Will the Gods of War Raise #1
War Special Needs
-There is a saying.
It seems that when a war breaks out or there is a hint of one, the market becomes noticeably more active and vibrant.
Food, medicine, and other items that soldiers going to war need are selling like hotcakes, and it is said that hoarding of items such as emergency food supplies is also frequent.
In fact, the market we found with Luna was incredibly noisy with people running around and shouting.
Of course, even on normal days, the market in Sodomora was a market street without any dignity, but today it was particularly bad.
“Hey kid, I caught you first!”
“What are you talking about, Sval! Can’t you see what I marked here? This sword is something I’ve reserved for myself a long time ago!”
The reasoning of people facing a great crisis easily breaks down.
People whose sanity has collapsed become more selfish and greedy than usual, buying up every single item without leaving anything behind.
Luna and I stopped by a general store to buy dried biscuits, beef jerky, and other things that we could boil in water or eat as is.
Even after searching all over the place, the general store’s items were already sold out quickly.
“Hassan, there’s a lot of Mente Zeng-eo-ri Pie left here!”
Mente Zeng-eo-ri Pyrani.
No matter how irrational people are, it seems like they don’t want to eat such horrible food.
But since that was all we had left as food, Luna and I had no choice but to buy things that no one seemed to buy, like dried mentha squash pie and steamed cacao beans.
“Hehehe, I’m lucky. I was able to buy something delicious though.”
“Luna, what do you think is tasteless?”
“Sand! And ants don’t taste good either. Of course, there are some ants that taste good, but ants in general don’t taste good.”
I wondered how he knew that ants were tasteless, but decided not to ask. I think that even between lovers, there needs to be secrets to maintain a beautiful relationship.
Actually, I ate ants many times because of my father. It’s not a memory I really want to recall, though.
Anyway, I was able to buy most of the food I needed to eat during the war.
Luna, who has always had a bit of a tongue problem, seems content with these tasteless foods, but I can’t help but be worried.
“I wish I had come out earlier.”
“It would have been the same even if I had come out early. Hassan, do you not need to prepare any more armor or weapons?”
At Luna’s words, I glanced at the armor shops here and there on the street. They were also bustling with people who had gathered there, making it crazy.
“I don’t think it’s really necessary.”
The breastplate, shin guards, and shin guards I wear are more than enough. Adding more armor to my collection would only add to the burden I have now.
Still, I think it would be good to have at least one helmet to protect your head. I was so tired from walking around the market because there were so many people that I would trip over them.
Since we’re leaving tomorrow, wouldn’t it be better to go to the cabin and replenish our strength rather than wasting our energy like this?
So I decided to just go home with Luna.
“Hassan, you really don’t need any more? I’ll buy it for you!”
“are you okay.”
Luna also seemed nervous and excited about me going to war.
It was so obvious that he was struggling and not knowing what to do even more than I was, who was going into battle right away. He must have been worried.
If Luna had gone to war, I think I would have sent her off with a lot of things overflowing.
Luna, who had returned to the cabin, began to run around busily, making potions for me to use.
After wandering around the market for half a day, he barely managed to find some herbs and earthworms, and even threw in a few strands of his own hair.
“Luna, why are you putting your hair in it?”
Can something made like that really be called a leap?
If there is a strike zone under the Food Sanitation Act, that is so far outside the standard that it is at the level of a dead ball that hits the umpire in the face.
But Luna shouted confidently as if she didn’t care at all.
“Lucky Potion! It will increase your luck! It will dodge flying arrows!”
A lucky elixir? It was the first time I heard of such a thing. However, since Luna was working so hard on it, I decided to stop asking any more questions.
In fact, my mind was so tense right now that I wanted to lean on something so suspicious and leap forward, and I didn’t know what to do.
war.
It’s war.
The time has come for me, Hassan, to wield my blade and bludgeon and fight in a real war, determined not to die.
“after-.”
I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes, listening to Luna’s busy breathing, the sound of her bare feet stamping on the floor, and the noise of various things grinding inside the small bowl.
There have been countless wars in human history. Surely, there must have been many commoners like me who had to participate in wars they didn’t want to.
And those countless Hassans.
Did you feel the same way I do now?
Of course, I can’t know what they were thinking. I’m not sure what I’m thinking right now either.
Consciousness wavers like a speck of dust floating in the air, occasionally flickering and reflecting light. My heart pounds so hard it hurts.
I just looked at Luna, who was moving busily back and forth in front of me, keeping my mind off of my complicated thoughts.
The sight of her pink twin tails, tied into two pigtails and swaying back and forth, is quite pleasing.
Pink hair.
It was such a funny color that even thinking about it now made me wonder if I was dreaming.
So, to feel the reality, I grabbed Luna’s wrist as she moved around and pulled it gently.
It’s a very thin and slender wrist. A woman’s body is truly slender and soft.
“Huh-.”
Luna was staggering as if she was going to fall over, unable to keep her balance. I held the guy’s slender body tightly and buried my nose in the nape of his neck.
Sniff sniff.
“Huh, Hassan…?”
Luna’s body had a slightly salty yet faintly sweet smell of sweat. And as always, there was a refreshing scent of menthe oil.
Small shoulders.
A trembling breath.
My waist tensed and flailed as if I was flustered, but soon relaxed. Soon, Luna wrapped her arms around my chest as I sat down and hugged me.
It feels a little bit soothing because it has a soft, gentle, and warm feel that is unique to women.
Luna and I held each other in silence for a while. Maybe we didn’t need to talk in the first place.
It was enough for us to just know that we were here together at this moment.
How much time has passed like that?
“Hassan, Hassan is a fierce Samaritan. I’m sure he’ll be fine even in the midst of a loud and noisy war.”
“okay?”
“I’m sure it will be. I’m sure it will be… . I would have said that before. When I first saw Hassan, he really looked like a savage who had just emerged from hell. He was all black.”
“That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”
“But, but Hassan is actually an idiot. He’s not that strong.”
I wanted to say, “Hey, you idiot. That’s too harsh.”
I couldn’t answer Luna’s words because she started sobbing.
Hot tears flow from Luna’s eyes as she buries her face in my chest, wetting my collar.
As I’ve said before, a woman’s tears are a truly powerful weapon.
All sorts of thoughts were swirling around in my head, but since Luna started crying, nothing came to mind.
The thought of the coming war and my possible death faded away, and the only thing on my mind was how to make this little girl stop crying.
So I scratched Luna’s back with my hand like I used to comfort her when she was upset.
Swish, swish.
I wish I could say something cool, but unfortunately my tongue is dull. If I had the grace of words rather than dexterity, I might have been able to say something more cool.
“don’t cry.”
So after much thought and thought, I finally managed to say those three words. Luna quietly responded.
“… Don’t cry. In Ideopa, they say that if you send men off crying, you’ll have bad luck.”
“I see. There are all sorts of stories in Ideophee.”
“I am Luna, the daughter of Ideophee. And, Ideophee women are better at waiting than anyone else. So, I really don’t like it. Just this once, just this once, let me go. Hassan.”
“okay.”
I was able to feel a little bit relieved because Luna’s crying was starting to stop. It seemed like Luna’s emotions were momentarily turbulent because of the war, and she burst into tears.
“I really hate it. I really hate it, but I have no choice but to let you go, Hassan.”
“Okay, I got it.”
Luna, who kept talking as if she was whining, looked quite cute. I knew it was a serious situation, but Juji was getting more and more embarrassed.
It would be strange if I were to hug a girl’s body and not move my lower body. So, feeling regretful, I was stroking Luna’s back as much as I could when Luna said.
“So, just this once, go to the Temple of Mars. There’s nothing more I can do for you. I’m not a demigod… I don’t know how to pray for things like protection…”
“temple?”
“… Yes, I will receive the protection of the warrior god. In return, I will wait just this once. I do not want Hassan to be seriously injured or killed in battle.”
Swish.
With those words, Luna stood up from her seat. Then she opened the window on the second floor and stood under the fading moonlight, looking out at the street.
Come to think of it, Hippolyta had told me to come to her in the evening and that she would grant me protection.
By now, most of the people who had gathered so loudly would have gone home and prepared for the war that would come tomorrow.
“Have a nice trip.”
Luna said that without looking at me, just looking up at the night sky. I thought you were going to come with me. It looks like Luna just wants to stay in this cabin.
So I also got up from my seat awkwardly.
“Aren’t you going together?”
“I told you before. I’ll wait. Just this once. Go quickly before I lose my resolve.”
Luna spoke with a very determined voice. I could only see the back of Luna’s head, so I couldn’t read her expression, but I guessed that she was probably frowning.
“hurry!”
He even yelled at me as if he was trying to kick me out, so I had no choice but to back away hesitantly, feeling quite bewildered.
“Okay, okay. I’ll be back.”
Luna might need some time alone too. Since we’ve been hanging out together so often lately, she needs to clear her head by thinking and meditating alone sometimes.
So I stepped onto the stairs leading down to the first floor, leaving Luna behind and walking out onto the street. One, two. Three.
The stairs gradually got lower and lower. Soon, when I put my hand on the door to the first floor to open it.
Car park, car park, bang bang.
A loud noise and a large figure came toward me. It was Luna. Luna, her face flushed red beyond description, hesitating.
“I can’t just let it go!”
Luna buried her face in my chest like a hungry lion. I thought she was trying to hug me.
Kwaaaaaaaah-.
“That’s great!”
The wind bit my chest so hard that I couldn’t hold back a scream.
“Go now!”
And then it was Luna who slammed the door and threw me out. What the hell was it?
I could only swallow my tears as I looked at her bitten chest, which was so bad that the marks were clearly visible through her clothes.
War seems to have a way of driving people crazy like this.
Anyway, I walked out into the street, scratching my head in a rather bewildered mood.
The streets are filled with soldiers walking noisily, heightening the sense of tension and anxiety, perhaps because of the upcoming battle the next day.
There were some incidents along the way, such as being searched by armed soldiers, but I was able to arrive at the Mars building site safely.
I thought the crowds would decrease a bit in the evening.
As it was a place to worship Mars, the god in charge of war and strife, even at this moment when the sun had set and the moon had risen, the fires in the hearths were burning everywhere and the priests’ blessings were heard everywhere.
Where is Hippolyta?
I searched for a familiar face among the numerous priestesses. Soon, someone tapped me on the back.
There is no one in this world who would grab my back without a sound like this except Hippolyta.
“Are you Hippolyte?”
“Yeah. You really came as promised. Honestly, I didn’t think that Noxdotty would send you.”
When I turned my head, I saw Hippolyta, her skin redder than usual, perhaps from the fire in the brazier.
It is quite a strange sight to see her with her hair tied neatly back and wearing a red dress instead of her usual armor or priestly attire.
A tight-fitting cylindrical dress that is short enough to reveal her thighs. It may be plain, but Hippolyta’s body itself is so outstanding that it is harmful to the eye.
In fact, men could be seen here and there stealing glances at Hippolyta. Some of them simply stared at her without even hiding their gaze.
A popular girl’s dress.
The sight made her look like a handsome athlete who had come to a celebrity’s wedding party. Now that I look at it, it looks like she had quite a bit of glittering makeup on her face.
Hippolyta puts on all that makeup?
It suited her well, but I found it surprising because I thought she was quite distant in her grooming.
I had been brainwashing myself into thinking that there was no girl prettier than Luna, but my mind was so shocked for a moment that I forgot about it.
“…Why, why are you looking at me like that? Is it weird?”
“No, it’s just that I felt like you put in a lot more effort than usual….”
“Ahem, I guess that doesn’t mean it’s weird.”
“I thought you were someone else.”
“Different people, different people. Interesting perspectives.”
I wasn’t strong enough to easily tell a girl that she was pretty. So I was thinking about whether I could say something cool about her appearance.
Hippolyte spoke first.
“I am the priestess of war. On a day like today, I must dress up well. Anyway, I was waiting. Over there, over there.”
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